CASE Center will hold seminar on employing international students

CASE Center will hold seminar on employing international studentsSeptember 27, 2006Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s CASE Center will hold a special seminar on “Removing the Myths of International Student Employment and Understanding the H-1B Visa” on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 5-8 p.m. at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center.

The cost of the seminar is $25; current students may attend the seminar for free. Registration is required by contacting JoAnn Fredericks at (315) 443-1060 or jmfreder@syr.edu.

Syracuse University has more than 5,000 graduate students, and more than 1,200 of them are studying in technical disciplines within the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Information Studies. These students represent a vast pool of talent that could be tapped to fill high-tech job openings in Central New York. Many of these graduate students are international students studying at SU on F-1 visas and interested in co-ops and post-graduate employment in the area.

The seminar is intended to educate employers on the H-1B visa — which allows employers to hire students on F-1 visas to work in the United States — and to remove possible misconceptions about the process. Case studies of area employers who have worked through the H-1B visa process and hired SU international students will be discussed.

Seminar presenters include Patricia Burak, director of the Lillian and Emanuel Slutzker Center for International Services at SU; Andrea Godfread-Brown, associate director at the Slutzker Center; and Diane R. Chappell-Daly, an attorney with an immigration law practice in Syracuse. The panel will be moderated by Ramon E. Rivera, a partner at Mackenzie Hughes LLC in Syracuse.

The CASE Center is a New York State Center of Advanced Technology supported by the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR). NYSTAR’s broad mission is to make New York state a national leader in high-technology academic research and economic development.

The mission of the CASE Center is to be a key contributor to the state’s high-technology economy by providing access to the resources of Syracuse University and collaborating with state businesses and economic development organizations. CASE operates a high-technology incubator, manages joint university-industry applied research projects, and provides workforce development educational opportunities within a broad information technology focus area.